Borough of Harvey Cedars, Ocean County, NJ September 2022 Hometown News *Department of Public Works & Public Property - Commissioner/Mayor Jonathan Oldham* The unofficial end of the summer season is near, and I wish everyone a happy and safe Labor Day weekend. As mentioned in my previous newsletter, we partnered with the Taxpayers’ Association to create a way for you to cement a place in the history of Harvey Cedars by purchasing a commemorative brick to be placed around the viewing area at Sunset Park. You can choose wording for the brick to honor or remember a loved one or for yourself and/or your family. Please click this link for more information and to place an order. https://www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/harveycedars As we have all witnessed, our beach is in need of sand; some areas of town more than others, but we all know this can change with just one storm. Harvey Cedars and LBI are due for our 7-year renourishment project in 2023, but first we require Congress to appropriate the necessary funds. We can all help by contacting Senators and Congressmen requesting them to support the federal funding for beach renourishment in the FY23 cycle in the amount of $32 million. The following are links to contact Senators and Congress: US Senator Cory Booker https://www.booker.senate.gov/contact/write-to-cory US Senator Bob Menendez https://www.menendez.senate.gov/contact/email US Congressman Jefferson Van Drew https://vandrewforms.house.gov/contact/ US Congressman Andy Kim https://kim.house.gov/contact/email-me Please reach out to these representatives so they are aware of how important the project is to protect our community. Stay safe, and enjoy the final days of the summer. *Department of Revenue & Finance – Commissioner Paul Rice* It was wonderful to see so many taxpayers at the Harvey Cedars annual taxpayers association meeting. The tax rate in Harvey Cedars is 0.967, making the average tax bill $10,196.29. Your total tax bill is divided as follows: 28.2% of the tax bill goes to fund the municipal budget, 41.16% to the county, 25.03% to the regional school, 4.55% to the local school and 1.03% to the municipal open space fund. The municipal portion of the taxes remained flat to help keep our low tax rate and maintain a steady tax bill. The municipal tax sale for the delinquent 2021 taxes and municipal charges is scheduled for Friday, October 14, 2022 at 10AM. At this time, there are 6 properties scheduled to be sold at the tax sale. This summer provided excellent weather for all of the events hosted by the Harvey Cedars Activity Committee. Thank you to all who attended, donated, and volunteered their time to make each event great. The HCAC volunteers collected $2,498.86 in bucket donations from concert attendees. These donations provide funds for future concerts and events. If you're looking for a new Harvey Cedars t-shirt, stop by Borough Hall to check out the newest design in mint and navy. The HCAC will be meeting soon to wrap-up the summer season and begin the planning of the fall wine tasting. [image: Mint - New HC Design.jpg] The High Point Volunteer Fire Company held the first in person Dog Day Road Race since COVID. The community support for our local fire company and their events never goes unnoticed. Thank you to everyone who helped the fire company have a successful race! If you were unable to attend the race but would like to purchase a Dog Day t-shirt please contact the fire company. *Department of Public Safety & Public Affairs – Commissioner/Deputy Mayor John M. Imperiale* Labor Day Weekend is here and another summer season is coming to an end. I hope everyone enjoyed it and was safe and healthy. I would like to thank HCPD Chief Burnaford and HCBP Chief Randy Townsend for a terrific job this summer. They and their teams did their usual great job, and I know our residents and visitors are appreciative of their efforts. Thanks to the presence of our Seasonal Officer and the addition this year of a Confidential Administrative Assistant, we were able to significantly increase Officers visibility on patrol this summer. And our Beach Patrol remained fully staffed through the middle of August, and is still doing a great job staffing as best as possible as we close out summer. Please note that the postseason lifeguard schedule is as follows: Tuesday, Sept 6th through Friday, Sept 30th Middlesex Ave will be guarded daily. 80th st beach will be guarded on weekends pending weather and staffing. The Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol received another valued accreditation in August, from the United States Lifeguard Association (USLA) for our “Open Water Lifeguard Training Program.” Congrats to Chief Townsend and his staff. I want to thank Agnello’s By The Cove for hosting a “Coffee With A Cop” in August, completing the Coffee With A Cop Program for this year, after our July stops at the Neptune Market and Birdy’s. Chief Burnaford and I appreciate all the residents who stopped by at these events, and would like to remind everyone that the next HCPD Community Forum will be on Wednesday, September 28th at 5:00 pm with Sergeant Steve Frazee and Officer Dan Grundtisch presenting: Officer Training, Firearms, and SWAT. Mark your calendar for another excellent HCPD Community Forum. It is not too early to think about registering for the HCPD Winter House Registration Program. Property owners can register online (www.hcpolice.org) or fill out this form and email it to dtilton(a)hcpolice.org While the dead bunker fish washing up in our bay waters over the last few weeks were definitely unpleasant, tests have shown that the fish died simply because they were in too close (maybe chased in by predator fish) where the water was too warm and oxygen levels too low for them. We appreciate the efforts of Dan Krupinski and the LBI Health Department, the DEP and the NJSP. A year or so ago, Chief Burnaford and I announced the “Cops Contributing To The Community" Program to capture the great work done by the HCPD Foundation. The latest effort is the “Sneaker Fundraiser Program” run through Gotsneakers.com <http://gotsneakers.com/>, a sneaker recycling organization. That organization collects and distributes used sneakers, either by donating them directly or ensuring that they are recycled, and compensates not-for-profit organizations for their donations. The funds raised through the Used Sneaker Drive will help the HCPD Foundation fulfill its purpose, so please drop off your used sneakers at Borough Hall and help make this program a success. An estimated 200 million pairs of used sneakers go into landfills every year, yet every single one of them can be recycled and the majority of them can be used again by people in need. Let your used sneakers go to good use!